Don’t get us wrong. We love farm to table but the term is exhausted. Used up. Borderline faux at this point. It’s a catchy phrase but is it really farm to table?

We, however, are not opposed to spinoffs. Like The Colbert Report was to The Daily Show or Double Stuf Oreos are to regular Oreos. We like those things. So when we go to a local brewery and we see something like Plow to PintⓇ we find ourselves intrigued. Hell we like beer. Plows have proven useful to Americans who like to eat.

Plow to PintⓇ, consider us interested.

It’s an experiment from one of our favorite St. Paul breweries. Tucked back on Endicott Street near the railroad tracks, you’ll find a horse stable turned brewery (the first one in the area founded exclusively by women) known as Urban GrowlerⓇ.

Owned by Deb Loch, the brewer, and Jill Pavlak the entrepreneur, Urban GrowlerⓇ started in 2014 after 6 years of planning and a list of 250 brewery name ideas later. Deb got into the business after serving as an assistant brewer in Wisconsin, getting her masters in brewing in California, spending time as an apprentice at Summit Brewing and eventually becoming the new Product Development Manager at Northern Brewer.

Jill on the other hand, spent time as an entrepreneur for two businesses before becoming a co-owner of the brewery and spent time as a restaurant manager and working in liquor stores.

Together they are the the insightful pair building a beer list that has won multiple awards across the U.S.

The list has plenty of staples like their Cowbell Cream AleⓇ that is the perfect transition for the non-craft beer drinker and their flagship Big Boot™ Rye IPA that offers a nice hop balance at 6.5% alcohol.

What gets us going back though is the Plow to PintⓇ series. While one of our favorites like the Pumpkin Saison isn’t on tap until the fall, we tried the Hayloft Series™ 10,000 Plums Barleywine on our last visit that had every single plum pitted by a member of their kitchen staff and is later aged in Bordeaux and Chardonnay wine barrels before being blended. In our first taste of this brew, we can safely recommend it–just don’t forget the designated driver.